Quote:
Originally Posted by rowan
So shortly after it detects mains power is lost the generator kicks in and a relay switches the source from the street to the generator for most of your internal house wiring? That's a great solution. I guess you chose gas over diesel because of maintenance, rancid diesel issues, etc?
|
Yes, it's the same as what I have. It has a 6 second check, i.e. if the power is out for 6 seconds, it starts up. We don't have natural gas here so it's hooked up to my propane tank (330 gallons). Like PK I bypassed the AC - also bypassed the heat. In the summer my basement is VERY cool and the fans will work and in the winter, I have a fireplace, a gas heater and electric floor heaters if needed
It checks itself for 15 minutes every Monday morning. Once the power went out while it was checking itself and it wasn't until after about 30 minutes I started questioning why it was still checking itself ;) There's a small LED panel (the size of a light switch) in my basement and if there's a problem, it blinks. There are, I think, 9 different things it can tell me is a problem.
The main transfer switch is before the electrical panel in my house so I can turn off any power I need to in the house w/o it kicking in. The transfer switch is right below the toilet in my guest room and I tell you from experience, it makes QUITE a noise when it kicks in ;)
For everything - installation, all the electrical and gas was $7K. I had a smaller ($5500) quote but I wanted the Briggs and Stratton and it was more expensive. I can't remember the actual specs - I have a small house though.
Here's a picture I took when it was installed:
Best thing I have EVER bought for myself (besides the TiVo
)